Zendaya is starring in the new movie 'Challengers' and while she may not be giving tennis pro *yet* - what she *is* giving is ELLE's September cover star. The multi-faceted mogul gets vulnerable while sharing her favorite memories, proudest moments and even attempts to choose her favorite red-carpet look.
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00:00 My character is supposed to be a tennis pro,
00:01 and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right, yet.
00:06 Hey, I'm Zendaya,
00:07 and today I'm going to let Elle ask me anything.
00:10 But before we get started,
00:11 make sure you check out my cover for Elle out now.
00:14 [upbeat music]
00:16 If I weren't acting, I'd be, I don't know,
00:21 I think within the industry, I would be a director,
00:24 which is something I hope to do one day.
00:26 And I think outside,
00:27 I feel like I would have probably followed
00:30 in the footsteps of my parents and become a teacher.
00:33 I love kids, I love learning, and I love teaching.
00:35 I would love to play a villain of sorts,
00:41 tap into the evil super villain vibes,
00:45 whatever that manifests in,
00:46 I don't think necessarily in a superhero sense,
00:48 I just mean in like a emotional sense.
00:50 I feel like I usually play the good guy,
00:52 so I like to play the bad guy.
00:54 My earliest memory of performing was,
00:57 there was like a school play I auditioned for.
00:59 I was incredibly shy,
01:00 so I'm proud of myself for even trying to audition.
01:03 I must've been like seven or eight years old.
01:06 I was James and the Giant Peach.
01:08 I got a non-speaking role.
01:10 I was the silkworm,
01:12 which means that I literally laid on the stage
01:15 and did absolutely nothing
01:17 because the silkworm doesn't speak.
01:20 But, you know, I feel very proud of that still to this day.
01:23 So that was my first role.
01:26 You know, listen, no such thing as small parts.
01:29 A memory I could relive over and over.
01:35 I'm trying to think of ones I can share
01:36 that aren't as personal, you know what I mean?
01:38 'Cause some things, you know, they're my memories.
01:40 I like to keep those to myself.
01:42 I would say the Emmy night that I got to be with my family
01:47 and like go through that with everyone in my home
01:50 was really special.
01:51 I think I was really stressed,
01:52 so I would like to go through it, but not as myself,
01:56 more as like maybe like the fly on the wall, you know?
01:59 I'd like to watch from an outside perspective
02:03 what happened and watch my family all there and react.
02:06 There was just so much love in the room.
02:09 I am the most proud of...
02:12 This is some deep questions, guys.
02:14 Wait a minute now.
02:15 What am I the most proud of?
02:17 I am proud of myself in general.
02:19 I think it's important
02:21 and it's not a bad thing to like pat yourself on the back
02:23 and say, "You know what?
02:24 "You did a good job."
02:25 I think sometimes that's not always an easy thing to do.
02:27 I mean, I struggle with it.
02:28 Sometimes I'm so frustrated.
02:29 What's the next thing?
02:30 Or being so self-critical that I forget to go,
02:33 "You know what?
02:33 "Actually, dude, you did a good job.
02:35 "It's okay."
02:36 Best industry advice I've ever received.
02:39 I don't know if I've received it
02:40 so much as I've had to learn it over time.
02:42 You can get taken advantage of.
02:43 So I try my best, especially in business,
02:45 to be involved in the boring conversations
02:48 and listen to it and try to like absorb as much as I can
02:50 so I can really know what's going on.
02:53 The last show I binge watched.
02:56 So I'm re-watching "Succession"
02:58 because I started the first season
03:00 and then for some reason I stopped
03:03 and I was like, "Wait a minute.
03:04 "Why did I?"
03:05 I was watching that and then I don't know
03:06 if I got busy or something, but I fell off.
03:08 And so now I'm re-watching it starting from the beginning.
03:11 I'll let you know how it goes.
03:13 Those are no spoilers.
03:15 My favorite look.
03:16 I can't pick my favorite look.
03:17 That's like picking your favorite child.
03:18 You know what I mean?
03:19 It's impossible.
03:20 I love clothes.
03:21 I love playing in them.
03:22 I love experimenting with them.
03:24 I feel like with every red carpet,
03:26 it's like development of a new character.
03:29 My fashion icon is La Roche.
03:32 I mean, we've been working together
03:34 since I was like 14 years old.
03:36 He's my first one and only stylist.
03:38 When I met him, he owned a vintage store in Chicago.
03:41 I was a 14 year old that up until that point
03:43 had tried to dress myself and it was tough.
03:46 We immediately connected
03:47 and we've grown up so much together.
03:49 It's been an evolution
03:51 and we've been able to experiment together
03:53 and I've learned so much from him in the process.
03:56 My prized possession.
03:58 It sounds weird calling my dog a possession,
04:01 but like he was a gift to me literally on Christmas
04:04 and like he's the greatest gift.
04:06 I mean, that's my son.
04:07 You know, it's my child.
04:09 I love him very, very much.
04:10 He's been here all day rocking out with us.
04:12 He brings so much joy, I think, to every set.
04:15 Dogs are the best.
04:18 Favorite memory on set.
04:20 From "Challengers," I think the best part was I,
04:24 you know, my fans know this about me,
04:26 I'm not the hugest fan of having to work out.
04:28 I don't necessarily look forward to it,
04:31 but I had to because my character
04:33 is supposed to be a tennis pro
04:34 and clearly I'm not giving tennis pro, right, yet.
04:38 We had an incredible team of people
04:40 that we got to learn from,
04:41 but I was with Josh and Mike every day
04:43 and they were the reason that I was able to
04:48 (laughs)
04:49 smile and laugh through our workout sessions.
04:52 It was a good time.
04:53 I think we all really needed to lean on each other
04:55 in those moments.
04:57 My favorite comfort meal was In-N-Out
05:01 and so every time I'm home, I'm always like,
05:04 I always go get my grilled cheese
05:07 'cause I know people are like,
05:07 "Wait, aren't you a vegetarian?"
05:08 Grilled cheese, okay, they're bomb, right?
05:11 Grilled cheese, extra spread, grilled onions.
05:14 Thank me later.
05:17 What's on my bucket list?
05:18 To direct one day.
05:19 I would love to direct a film.
05:21 Hopefully just more than one,
05:22 but just doing it, the first step
05:25 to actually doing something yourself
05:27 is not an easy step to take,
05:30 so hopefully I can get over the fear.
05:34 Normally people would say, "Jumping out of a plane."
05:37 I don't wanna do that.
05:38 (laughs)
05:39 My mom wants to do that
05:40 and she keeps trying to peer pressure me into doing that,
05:43 but I've told her, "No thank you."
05:47 The story behind my first major splurge
05:50 was this really cute little tiny Louis Vuitton purse.
05:55 It was my first time being in Paris
05:58 and I was doing my first press tour
06:00 and I was like, "You know what?
06:02 "I make a little bit of money now.
06:03 "I'm on a Disney show."
06:05 And yeah, I still have it to this day
06:07 and it's very, very cute.
06:09 Might have to whip it out again
06:10 'cause since the small bags are in, you know?
06:13 Three beauty products I can't live without.
06:15 Hopefully I can live without all of them.
06:17 You gotta have a good SPF.
06:20 You know, listen.
06:22 SPF, everyone.
06:24 Every day, wear your SPF, protect your skin.
06:26 Gel nail polish.
06:28 Sometimes I do them myself, sometimes I get them done.
06:30 And then when you see them
06:31 and they look like they don't have anything on it,
06:33 it's a matte clear gel, okay?
06:35 They always get, there's always something, right?
06:38 And clear gloss, clear lip gloss.
06:42 Looks great on everyone.
06:43 Very versatile, you can put it over a color
06:45 or just by itself.
06:47 Clear gloss.
06:49 Thank you guys so much for hanging out with me and Elle today.
06:51 I hope you enjoy "Challengers"
06:52 and make sure you subscribe to Elle's channel
06:55 so that you can watch more.
06:56 It sounds like we're friends, right?
06:58 Like me and Elle, my girl Elle.
07:00 (laughs)
07:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]